2026-04  Showy bird tile

2026-04 Showy bird tile

This tile is of ordinary size, but extraordinary design.  Although sold as “artist unknown,”  the design is so bold and intriguing that the front of the tile announces its maker, an intuition confirmed by the lightly scratched “RS” “ (which looks like a “B”) on the...
2026-03 Jar with avian and eagle-tail designs

2026-03 Jar with avian and eagle-tail designs

Many of the design elements on this jar are common on pots from Hopi, but the firing, the arrangement of design elements, the exquisite detail of painting and the contradictions within the design are extraordinary.  That quality is typical of Karen Abeita’s work....
2026-02 Monochromatic seedjar

2026-02 Monochromatic seedjar

This jar’s upward-expanding shape, unique designs, and blushed background are both unsettling and exceptional. The jar is also rare. Pam does not make much pottery; the collection has only one other pot by her, 2014-05. Form: From a 1.325-inch base, the walls expand...
2026-01:  Double-lobed canteen

2026-01: Double-lobed canteen

Large lobe: 5.0” h X 3.875 “ w Small lobe: 4.0625” h X 3.375” w Bi-lobed canteens are a tradition at Acoma Pueblo, just west of Santa Fe, and are less-frequently made at a number of the Rio Grande pueblos.  This form is not native to Hopi and is rarely made there....
2025-15 Narrow-necked spirit-being jar

2025-15 Narrow-necked spirit-being jar

The neck is 1.125-inches high. This is a graceful but clunky jar with an inventive, engaging design.  Its maker was a brilliant, iconoclastic artist adept in many mediums. Randall Sahmie (1950–2008) was the fourth of eight children of Priscilla Namingha Nampeyo....